There is a six minute needle tatting video online for a Loops & Lace bracelet designed by Lesley Weiss in the October issue of Beads&Button Magazine. It's not as close up as it could be and goes pretty fast but it's the first needle tatting tutorial online that I've seen.

I still prefer shuttle tatting to needle tatting but it's a good introduction to tatting. I've seen some excellent needle tatting that you could barely tell from shuttle tatting but like any kind of tatting, it takes practice to develop that skill. I think needle tatting got a bad rap initially because it was so obviously NOT shuttle tatting - loose stitches and usually big thread, often mismatched thread to the needle size. As the technique has evolved and stitchers learned the tips and tricks to make it look good, it's every bit as beautiful as shuttle tatting.


I've seen some pretty bad shuttle tatting - all I have to do is go back and look at all my early tatting mistakes that are kept in a tin. LOL! This is some of it. I forgot I even used some size 5 perle cotton at times. I used whatever I could get my hands on back then. There were no thread vendors close and I didn't know about the one place in town that carried DMC cordonnet at the time. I still have about 20 spools of guttermann top stitch thread that I would buy on sale because it came in lots of colors and was heavy enough to handle the twisting and pulling without breaking. Then I started ordering Cebelia through Herrschners. It was so much easier to work with than the top stitch thread. Then I found The Heirloom Corner in Pendleton, Indiana with Kaye Judt as owner. She had tons of thread and a dozen or so tatting books. I was in heaven! Kaye has since sold the business to Jennifer at ZigZag Corner Quilt Shop in Greenfield, Indiana and I still buy thread and books through them occasionally. We have an informal tatting guild there that I have only been to twice or three times in the past year. November is looking pretty good unless they cancel it due to the holidays!

CQ MagOnline has a new issue! Check out the wooden bangle bracelet and the wooden bead Bohemian pendant by Pat Winter. There are lots of projects in every issue and while they are crazy quilt focused, remember that you can use lots of tatting in these too. You can view any of the archived issues at any time. Also keep in mind that you can click on the photos and get a close-up view. I didn't know that for the longest time - really made me feel dumb when I figured it out. LOL!

Yesterday wasn't as productive as I hoped but it wasn't a total waste either. It's the first day I didn't have to get up and shower to go eat breakfast elsewhere. I got to sleep as long as I wanted - but got up at 7:30. I took a nap in the afternoon and I'm not sure how long - that's how tired I still was. I did do laundry - still have one load to fold, and I changed the litter box, went to the grocery store, and checked the mail. I tatted late last night. It's taking me awhile to find things and to remember what was in progress. Today I will unpack the rest of my luggage and put it away and do some other cleaning that is long overdue. I have a gift I need to make RIGHT NOW and need to sort out what else I want to get done in the remainder of the week. I ended up sleeping until 10:00 a.m. this morning but I was up until 1:00 a.m. last night. I am so glad I took this week off too. I wouldn't mind having a month off if I got paid for it. LOL!

I'm pretty much caught up on everyone's blogs but haven't read any of the list groups other than my own yet. I found I lost 2 pounds overnight which confirms my suspicion that some of the weight I gained during the cruise was water. Although it was nice to have so much food at hand, I have to admit that for the most part, I prefer my regular diet. The only thing I might miss was the lovely dinners. I missed my iced tea - it was terrible on the ship. I bought a soda card but that involved going to the bar for a small 12 ounce glass that was mostly ice. That got old but the water didn't taste all that great either except at the evening table. So now I'm drinking tons of my decaf self-brewed iced tea. LOL!